Best Yet Now In Great Neck

North Shore residents have a full-service market in town again—and it’s sure to satisfy the neighborhood’s hunger for a comprehensive grocery store.
Ready to delight voracious appetites, Best Market had a soft open on Wednesday, Feb. 10, and a grand opening, replete with a ribbon cutting, on Friday, Feb. 12, at noon.
Just steps from the LIRR at 40 Great Neck Rd. in Waldbaum’s old home, shoppers will find everything they need and more. The store has been gutted and replaced with bright LED lights, new flooring and a spruced-up interior.
Aside from Best’s signature fresh produce, there’s also a certified kosher bakery on premises with pareve bagels and a huge selection of dairy desserts. Kosher shoppers will also be pleasantly surprised by the nondairy ice cream case and the enormous kosher corner.
Freshly prepared sushi, a juice bar, Boar’s Head deli counter, a wood-smoke barbecue that sells buckets of fried chicken, an olive and salad bar, fresh cheeses, nuts and candy, seafood on ice, packaged appetizing (though a kosher appetizing and meat counter is rumored to open in the near future), seasoned meat and poultry, an extensive ethnic aisle and a frozen pet-food case enhance the extensive grocery and takeout offerings.
To add comfort to the experience, the refrigerated cases are enclosed with glass doors so shoppers don’t freeze, food stays fresh and energy isn’t wasted chilling the entire store.
“A supermarket is very important to the fabric of the community,” said Or Raitses, Best Market vice president. “It’s where people meet.”
Having grown up in the business as the grandson of Ben Raitses, who started with a small fruit and vegetable stand, expanded into Produce Warehouse in 1994 and then Best Market, which had been operating 20 markets in the tristate area before adding a dozen new groceries this year, Or Raitses has a handle on what shoppers are looking for.
“Having two stores in Manhattan helps us see and follow the trends,” added Raitses.
The vice president of the private, family-owned regional supermarket chain with headquarters in Bethpage welcomes suggestions from customers so that Best Market can provide everything its shoppers are looking for. He is optimistic about parking availability and said that the three-hour limit will be enforced.
“Come in and check it out,” said Raitses. “I think customers will be very pleased with what we did in a short amount of time.”

Sheri ArbitalJacoby brought more than three decades of publishing experience at national magazines to her former position as editor of the Great Neck Record. She also wrote decorating, travel, food and green articles for Long Island Weekly and Anton Media Group's special sections.